Lobley Hill Library

Stanley's library sits on Lobley Hill as a proper community anchor, the sort of place where locals actually spend their afternoons rather than just borrowing books. It's a working library with the usual collection - fiction, reference, children's section - but what makes it worth a visit when you're staying nearby is that it gives you a genuine sense of how people actually live here, away from the tourist trails.

The building itself is functional rather than fancy, but that's rather the point. If you've got kids, they'll find activity programmes and a children's area that keeps them occupied without the synthetic cheeriness of a theme park. Adults hunting for local history or rare titles might strike gold in the non-fiction sections, and the staff tend to be helpful if you're after recommendations about the area.

It's free to visit, which is always welcome, and you can drop in for as long as you fancy - fifteen minutes or two hours. Bear in mind this isn't a visitor attraction with opening times specifically laid on for tourists; it closes at sensible library hours, so check locally before you head over.

If you're based at Beamish Holiday Park or the rather excellent Beamish Glamping just down the road, this works well as a rainy-day option. It won't eat up your whole afternoon, but combined with nearby Beamish Museum or a walk into Stanley town centre, it slots into a proper day without feeling forced. Real communities have libraries; this one happens to be in North East England.